Around Us 12-01-11

By The Herald

Published 12:00 pm, Thursday, December 1, 2011

LUBBOCK - A contractor with the Lubbock Independent School District has paid more than $2.5 million to make good financial improprieties suffered by the district since 2003, according to the LISD superintendent and school board president.

The most serious issue was a former Sodexo employee who admitted she bought supplies for the district, then sold them on eBay - pocketing almost a half-million dollars over eight years.

Most of the goods purchased by the woman were electronic items, such as graphing calculators and a Blackberry smartphone, said James Arnold, president of the LISD Board of Trustees. The woman's spouse ordered grounds equipment, following much of the same process as his wife, the school officials said.

LISD Superintendent Karen Garza and Arnold declined to identify the couple because the case has been turned over to District Attorney Matt Powell.

School officials said the couple signed separate statements confessing to the schemes.

Another incident involving a Sodexo employee involved a conflict of interest, resulting in that employee's resignation in February. The Sodexo employee contracted with his own company for groundskeeping maintenance.

LISD has contracted with Sodexo for 24 years. The company is responsible for the daily maintenance of the district's facilities and grounds. The annual contract is for about $14.5 million, Garza said. - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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AMARILLO - Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested three Amarillo men who prosecutors have charged with running a cross-country drug ring that stretched from the Texas Panhandle to California and Virginia.

Prosecutors filed charges against the men Nov. 17 for possessing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with an intent to distribute.

Between January and September, an undercover federal officer in Amarillo and Canyon bought meth five times from an unnamed source. During the last purchase, on Sept. 14, officers arrested that individual. After the arrest, that person agreed to act as an FBI and DEA undercover informant and identified Adrian Garcia Baeza, 32, as the source of the drugs, court records show.

Baeza, of Amarillo, was listed as a "priority target" in an ongoing DEA investigation in Richmond, Va., where he was described as a leader in a Virginia drug ring, according to the affidavit. The source said Baeza used a Jeep Commander SUV with a hidden compartment to smuggle narcotics and money. That vehicle was traced to Jose Luis Pando, 35, the second man charged in the federal complaint.

The third defendant, Manuel Garza gave the informant a plastic container that contained 1 pound of meth, the affidavit said. - Amarillo Globe-News

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AMARILLO - Mayor Paul Harpole and Commissioners Lilia Escajeda, Ellen Green and Jim Simms expressed support for a proposed ordinance that would limit where some registered sex offenders could live.

Sex offenders convicted of a crime involving a child would be barred from living in more than a third of Amarillo under a draft ordinance discussed by the Amarillo City Commission.

Commissioners are expected to vote next week on whether to adopt proposed residency restrictions that would make it illegal for offenders to live within 1,000 feet of public or private schools, day care and youth centers and public parks and pools.

The measure also includes public recreation areas and video arcades and defines children as those younger than 17.

Of the 501 registered sex offenders living in Amarillo, 460 - or 92 percent - are registered due to convictions of crimes involving children younger than 15, Amarillo Police Chief Robert Taylor said.

The proposed residency restriction would apply to people who are required to register on the state database because of convictions under state law for unlawful restraint, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, prohibited sexual conduct, burglary of a habitation, online solicitation of a minor or compelling prostitution or sexual performance by a child. - Amarillo Globe-News